with the only spirituality that he needs. Brian Abel Ragen, in his book A Wreck on the Road to Damascus, addresses O'Connor's opinion of such notions, writing, "This extreme idea of personal freedom -- which is finally not so different from Pride -- is used to show what makes a man God'senemy and what he must lose before he can become one of His disciples" (108). Thus, the Essex helps O'Connor illustrate her theme of the futility of self-will and the importance of Christianity and submission to God. Hazel's faith in the Essex remains unshaken until the car is finally destroyed. After pushing the car off an embankment, the patrolman talks with Hazel: The patrolman stood staring at him. "Could I give you a lift to where you was going?" he asked. After a minute he came a little closer and said, "Where was you going?" He leaned on down with his hands on his knees and said in an anxious voice, "Was you going anywheres?" "No," Haze said. Hazel has now realized the emptiness and pointlessness of his relationship with the Essex; the car has taken him as far as it is ever going to and Hazel remains spiritually void. In the article "The Essential Essex," J.O. Tate delves into the possibilities of what O'Connor might have had in mind when she chose the Essex as her "major symbol and first unequivocal success." (51). The article ventures into the highly conjectural, citing the work of such disparate would-be influences as Maxwell Anderson and movie star Errol Flynn. Tate acknowledges that he has no actual proof of O'Connor's intentional use of such possible influences (12), but his point is made: O'Connor, keenly aware of at least some of the resonance of the word "Essex," succeeded in crafting a highly effective symbol. Indeed, the Essex, with its roles as home, pulpit, coffin, and metaphor for Hazel Motes himself, is the "driving" force of Wise Blood. Works Cited Allen, William Rodney. "The Cage of Matter: The W...
